LAS VEGAS  Oscar De La Hoya walked across the ring at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night and made what had to be the most telling, yet obvious, admission of his career:

"You were right, Freddie," he said to Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao's trainer, "I just don't have it anymore."

Roach trained De La Hoya for one fight, and that was a decision loss last year to Floyd Mayweather Jr. The two bantered back and forth before this bout, with De La Hoya saying that it was Roach's strategy — not himself — that was at fault for the Mayweather loss.

After eight of the most one-sided rounds in De La Hoya's 16-year career, Pacquiao accomplished what elite welterweights Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley and Mayweather could not. He stopped De La Hoya, and administered such a beating that the former four-division champion had to be sent to the hospital for observation. De La Hoya did not attend the postfight news conference.

And he did it by coming up from the featherweight and lightweight divisions (122-135 pounds) to dominate De La Hoya at 147. In modern boxing history, what Pacquiao did — he started his career at 106 — is unprecedented, particularly for Asian fighters who are largely concentrated in lower weight classes.

"I knew right away in the first round. I controlled the fight right away," Pacquiao said. "I was able to defend against his jab and I was able to move around."

Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) did it all. The southpaw landed his right jab at will, and every variety of punches imaginable. By the second round, De La Hoya's face was blood red. He nullified De La Hoya's vaunted left jab. Then the Filipino started attacking his body with great success.

"Oscar was in good condition but he couldn't control the southpaw stance or Manny's style," said Nacho Beristain, in his first fight as De La Hoya's trainer. "He just didn't seem to have the strength to stop him."

So much was made about The Dream Match being a mismatch, but it was supposed to favor De La Hoya. He hadn't fought at welterweight since 2001, but he had significant advantages in height (four inches) and reach (six inches). He also had the experience of being in with fighters with lightning-quick reflexes (Whitaker, Mosley, Mayweather) and two-fisted power (Trinidad and Fernando Vargas). He's campaigned as high as middleweight (160) and wasn't this badly battered in the only other stoppage loss of his career, vs. future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. That came on one shot to the body in a fight that De La Hoya appeared to hold his own for the most part as he was winning on one judge's scorecard.

Saturday, Pacquiao won 23 of 24 rounds scored by the three ringside judges. Pacquiao led from the beginning, but the tide turned for the worse for De La Hoya by the fourth. Pacquiao buckled him with a straight left to the body, and The Golden Boy's left eye was beginning to swell shut.

The fifth was more of the same, and by the seventh the writing was on the wall. Pacquiao landed 45 powerpunches, according to CompuBox punch count estimates — a record against De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) in a round. He had to grab the ropes to stop from actually falling to the canvas. Overall, CompuBox credited Pacquiao with connecting with 224 total punches to De La Hoya's 83. In powerpunches (non-jabs), Pacquiao had a 195-51 edge in shots landed.

After the eighth, De La Hoya didn't answer the bell, and Pacquiao accomplished the unthinkable. He's not only likely ended the career of De La Hoya, 35, the biggest box office attraction in pay-per-view history, but he continues to carry his power with him as he rises in weight, a feat comparable to that of Hall of Fame lightweight Roberto Duran.

Duran dominated at lightweight (135) and jumped a weight class to hand Sugar Ray Leonard his first defeat in 1980 to become welterweight champion. He eventually would move up to junior middleweight (154) in 1983, where he'd defeat Davey Moore by knockout to win the crown there, and middleweight (160) where he'd come within one point of defeating all-time great Marvin Hagler later that year when title fights were still 15 rounds. Six years later, at 38, Duran would wage Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year to defeat Iran Barkley to become middleweight champion.

Already regarded as the greatest fighter from the Philippines, Pacquiao is likely to be elevated to the greatest Asian fighter in the sport's history.

"My guy was just too fresh for him," Roach said. "Oscar is a great champion, he's had a great career, and I hope there are no hard feelings."

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